Most filmmakers would term working with Shah Rukh Khan a dream come true. Not Atlee. The Tamil filmmaker, whose Jawan has become a stupendous success at the box office, had never even dreamt of working with the superstar. Reason? He believed it to be out of his reach. But a call from Red Chillies Entertainment in 2019 changed it.

“When I was making Bigil [2019], I got a call from them, saying, ‘Mr Khan wants to meet you.’ I thought it was a joke. But he did want to meet me. So, I flew down to Mumbai, and Shah Rukh sir said he wanted to do a film with me. A week later, he came to Chennai and saw Bigil’s rushes,” recalls Atlee.

The duo spoke for eight months before the director cracked the idea of Jawan—a vigilante actioner that would see Khan in a double role. For his debut Bollywood offering, Atlee knew he had the mammoth task of surpassing the expectations of the superstar’s legion of fans. But the key to achieve it was simple: stick to the basics.

“I’ve learnt a lot from [the late] MGR sir, Rajinikanth sir and Amitabh [Bachchan] sir. I’ve seen old, massy films of Amitabh sir. I stick to a basic formula that was used in the ’80s and ’90s. That’s a grammar liked by the audience. It’s not intellectual, but I believe it will work even 100 years down the line,” reasons the director.

One of Jawan’s highlights is Khan’s older character Vikram Rathore. What’s not to love about an ex-Army officer who beats his enemies to pulp while listening to music on his headphones and puffing cigars? While Atlee knew Rathore’s swag would be loved by viewers, his leading man preferred Azad. 

“Shah Rukh sir said, ‘Azad is class.’ [However], he played Vikram Rathore in a way I couldn’t have imagined. When I asked him how he did it, he said, ‘It’s for you. You said Vikram is going to be the hero, and I played him like one.’”

In the garb of an entertainer, the Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi-starrer speaks of several socio-political issues. According to Atlee, films carry immense responsibility even if they are delivering entertainment.

“You should be a responsible filmmaker. Jawan is doing great commercially, but people are also taking something back with them. I am happy about this,” he says.

Tell him the audience is already demanding a sequel, and he smiles, saying, “We never discussed a sequel. If I get a great idea for Jawan 2, I’ll definitely make it.”